Trump attacks Pope over criticism of Iran war

Asked by reporters later to explain the post, he said: "I don't think he's doing a very good job, he likes crime, I guess."Trump added: "He's a very liberal person, and he's a man who doesn't believe in stopping crime, he's a man who doesn't believe we should be toying with a country that wants a nuclear weapon so they can blow up the world."EPAPope Leo has called for de-escalation in the Middle East many timesThe remarks drew immediate criticism from Catholics, with one expert comparing the comments to the Pope's relationship with fascist dictators in World War Two."Not even Hitler or Mussolini attacked the Pope so directly and publicly," said Massimo Faggioli, quoted by Reuters.The Pope has used numerous public addresses to denounce global conflicts and urge de-escalation in the Middle East.When Trump threatened Iran, saying that "a whole civilisation will die tonight", he responded by saying the statement was "truly unacceptable".In his Easter address, the pontiff said without mentioning any countries directly that people were growing accustomed to violence and indifferent to thousands of deaths.